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Gold gains 1% as demand for safe-havens increases ahead of US data
Gold prices rose over 1% Wednesday as investors sought out the safe haven asset in anticipation of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes to be released later that day. Also, the delayed U.S. jobs data for Thursday was a factor. At 9:36 am, spot gold rose 1.2% to $4,116.26 an ounce. ET (1436 GMT). U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery gained 1.3% to $4117.10 an ounce. There's a safe haven buy-in going on right now .... Bob Haberkorn, RJO Futures' market strategist, said that the (job) figures have been slightly softer and there is a jitter in the equity markets. The global shares stabilised on Wednesday after another selloff sparked by fears over AI valuations. However, the mood was cautious as investors awaited what could be a make-or break earnings report from chip giant Nvidia, and U.S. job data later this week. Data showed that on Tuesday, the number of Americans who received unemployment benefits reached a two-month-high in mid-October. The Federal Reserve will release its minutes of the October meeting at 2 pm. Today, policymakers will be able to clarify their stance on a possible rate cut. At the meeting, the central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis point. However, Chair Jerome Powell warned against further rate cuts in this year. Gold that does not yield tends to perform well in low interest rate environments and times of economic uncertainty. The release of the September job report, which was delayed because of the U.S. shutdown of government, is also expected on Thursday. This will provide a preliminary gauge of the economy's health. The September employment report is expected to show that 50,000 new jobs were created during the month, according to economists polled. The CME FedWatch tool shows that traders now expect a 51% probability of a rate reduction, up from 46% in the earlier session. FEDWATCH Other than that, silver spot rose 2.3%, to $51.87 an ounce. Platinum increased 1.3%, to $1.544.80. Palladium dropped 0.5%, to $1.396.50. (Reporting and editing by Alexandra Hudson in Bengaluru)
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MP Materials forms rare-earth refinery JV with Saudi Arabian Mining Company
MP Materials announced on Wednesday that it would form a joint venture for the refining of rare earths in Saudi Arabia, with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company. In premarket trading, shares of the company that operates the U.S.'s only rare earths mine, Mountain Pass in California, rose by more than 8%. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman makes his first U.S. trip since 2018. He is hoping to promote the deepening of commercial ties between both countries. During President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East in May, the U.S. announced that it had invested billions of dollars into both Saudi Arabia and the U.S. The company announced on Wednesday that the initiative builds upon its multi-billion dollar deal with the U.S. Government announced in July. It aims to increase output of rare earth magnetic materials and loosen China's hold on the materials needed to build weapons and electric vehicles, as well as many electronic devices. In the agreement, MP Materials, the Defense Department, and a joint venture will each hold 49% of the company, while Maaden retains no less than 50%. Trump has ordered that the Department of Defense renames itself as the Department of War. This change will require the action of Congress. The company also said that it was in talks to support or work with Saudi Arabia on magnet manufacturing. (Reporting and editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri in Bengalluvila; Sriraj Kalluvila, Sriraj Menon)
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Launch of UN-backed carbon markets could be delayed by funding issues
Five sources said that plans to launch a U.N. supported global market to trade carbon offset credits hit a snag during the COP30 Summit, as governments struggled to resolve a disagreement over funding in order to get the market running. The U.N. has been trying to create a global carbon market since the early 2000s. At last year's climate summit, rules were agreed on for a U.N. centralised trading system that allows countries and companies to buy CO2 emission credits which represent emissions reductions from poorer countries. It is intended to allow richer countries and companies to count these emission reductions towards their climate goals and channel funding for CO2-cutting initiatives in developing nations. It was anticipated that the market would launch in a proper manner by issuing carbon credits as soon as this year. DISPUTE OVER 30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM OLD FUND Five sources familiar with the discussions said that governments attending the COP30 in Belem in Brazil are divided over whether $30 million in leftover funds from a U.N. carbon credits scheme, which has been around for years but is rarely used, should be repurposed in order to launch the new global market. Sources said that without this cash transfer the new carbon market would not be fully funded, effectively putting the entire market on hold. One COP negotiator said, "It delays the launch of the marketplace." The negotiator stated, "There is a serious budget problem." The market cannot continue. The patchwork of voluntary standards The U.N. scheme is expected to be a breakthrough for the carbon credit market, which has been plagued by scandals over the past few years due to carbon credits that failed in their promises of reducing emissions. The U.N. would establish strict quality criteria to create a global standard of what good carbon credits should look like and charge a premium for them. Some carbon credit certifiers already in existence have revised their methods to conform with the U.N. scheme rules. The market will also help to provide much needed money for poorer countries to adapt to climate change. 5% of the proceeds from the carbon credit trading in the U.N. System is siphoned off into a U.N. Adaptation Fund. The $30 million that was used to keep the market running will also be transferred into this climate adaptation fund once the market is fully operational. Disagreement over when the old scheme should close Sources told us that some countries were ready to shut down the old U.N. scheme within a few months, and transfer the remaining $30 million into the new carbon market. Negotiators stated that other governments prefer to extend the old scheme for an additional two years to allow them to transfer credits from this scheme. Some people want the money to be put directly into the Climate Adaptation Fund. The draft negotiation text published by COP30 president Brazil on Wednesday showed that countries have not yet agreed if they will transfer $30 million to the carbon market. A "XX" was written in the place of the amount, indicating the matter is still being negotiated. Two diplomats stated that they believed the talks on carbon markets had become linked with trade-offs on other thorny topics governments are negotiating during COP30 – including trade policies and financing – and that if agreements were made on these topics the carbon market question could be resolved. (Reporting and editing by Richard Valdmanis, Conor Humphries, Virginia Furness and Sudarshan Varadhan. Additional reporting by Virginia Furness.
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Anfield wants approval to restart Colorado's uranium-vanadium mine
Anfield Energy announced on Wednesday that it had applied to the state for approval to restart the JD-8 uranium-vanadium mine, which was previously producing in Colorado. This will allow the company to resume production in the second quarter of 2026. Due to the poor market conditions that made production uneconomical, JD-8's uranium-vanadium project is currently inactive. The Burnaby-based Canadian company has submitted its application at a time when the Trump administration is intensifying efforts to boost U.S. security of energy by reducing reliance on imported Uranium and revitalising nuclear sector. The federal government has increased its support for restarting nuclear reactors and for accelerating the permits for new uranium project due to an increase in power demand related to AI-related data centers and other infrastructure. Anfield CEO Corey Dias said, "This JD-8 permitting milestone is a crucial step in Anfield’s strategy to restore U.S. uranium capacity." JD-8, with its strong market fundamentals and rising demand in the United States, is well positioned to supply high-grade uranium for the American fuel cycle. The Shootaring Canyon Mill is one of the only three conventional uranium-milling facilities in the U.S. The Trump administration approved Anfield’s proposed Velvet-Wood Uranium Mine Project in Utah after a rapid environmental review of 14 days as part of a process to speed up permitting for energy and mining projects. The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it had loaned Constellation Energy $1billion to restart its reactor at the Pennsylvania plant, formerly known by the name Three Mile Island. This was the site of the 1979 nuclear accident which caused the worst commercial nuclear power disaster in U.S. History. (Reporting from Sumit Saha, Bengaluru. Editing by Tasim Zaid)
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Saudi Arabian crude exports reach a seven-month high during September
Saudi Arabian crude oil exports reached a record high of seven months in September, according to data released by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative on Wednesday. The world's biggest oil exporter has increased its crude exports to 6,460 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), a slight increase over August's 6.407 millions bpd and the highest level since February. Saudi Arabian crude production, on the other hand, reached a peak of nearly 2.5 years, 9.966 millions bpd, in September. This was its highest level since April 2023. In August, the output was 9.722 millions bpd. JODI publishes the monthly export figures of Saudi Arabia and its other OPEC member countries. JODI data showed that the refinery crude throughput rose by 1.3% to 2.940 millions bpd during September. Direct crude burning fell by 122,000 to 485,000 bpd. "OPEC+ Group of Eight decided in September to unwind its production cut, with Saudi Arabia increasing production by 244,000 bpd but with crude oil and refined products exports only up by a fraction of that," said UBS Analyst Giovanni Staunovo. The difference in inventory must have been consumed by domestic consumers. OPEC+ increased its production targets by 2.9 million barrels a day, or 2.7% of the global supply. However, the group agreed to pause the increase in the first quarter next year, as it moderates plans to regain the market due to growing fears of a glut. OPEC+ pumped a total of 43.02 millions barrels per day during October, OPEC announced last week. This is down 73,000 bpd compared to September. According to a report, if OPEC+ continues pumping at the same rate as in October, the world's oil market will have a surplus of 20,000 barrels per day. Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA), said that there will be a surplus of up to 4,09 million barrels a day on the market next year. Saudi Arabia will export crude oil worth at least 36,000,000 barrels to China by December. (Reporting and editing by Alexandra Hudson in Bengaluru, Noel John is in Bengaluru.
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Novak: Russia will reach OPEC+ quotas by the end of 2025, or early 2026.
Alexander Novak, Deputy Premier of Russia, told reporters that the country will reach its OPEC+ production quota at the end or beginning of 2026. I think it will happen in the next few weeks, or maybe even by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Novak replied, "We'll see what the companies do," when asked about when Russia will reach its quota. The Russian quota is around 9.5 million barrels of oil per day for November. Novak stated that Russia increased its oil production steadily in November, and the rate of growth was slightly higher than October when the country missed its quota for 70,000 barrels a day. Novak stated that Russia's liquid hydrocarbon production for this year has not been changed. It remains at 510 millions tons. He claimed that the U.S. sanctions imposed on Rosneft in October as a result of the failure to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine have not affected oil production in Russia. He stated that Russia had fully compensated for its previous overproduction of oil under the OPEC+ agreement and that it did not intend to voluntarily lower output. Novak said that domestic fuel prices are stabilising thanks to the export restrictions, lower demand, and refineries coming back from maintenance. Retail prices are also beginning to fall. Reporting by Olesya Almakhova; Writing by Felix Light, Editing by Mark Trevelyan
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Police raid in Rio de Janeiro leaves at least two dead
In a statement, the civil state police reported that at least two people died and eight were arrested during a police raid in Rio de Janeiro's Vila Kennedy district on Wednesday. The operation is followed by Deadliest police raid Last month, 121 people were killed in Brazil including four police officers. Both operations were aimed at the Comando Vermelho, a gang that controls drug trafficking in the favelas, the densely-populated, poor neighborhoods that are woven into the hills of the city. The civil police released a statement saying that "this is another stage in the 'Operation Containment,' which highlights the fight against Comando Vermelho and its criminal activities." They also said that "a large amount of drugs" was found. In a separate press release, the military police confirmed that four criminals had been injured during the confrontation between the police and the criminals in the raid on Wednesday. Reporting by Luciana and Isabel Teles Editing and production by Ros Russell, Raju Gopalakrishnan
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UK declares'military option ready' after Russian ship uses lasers to target RAF pilots
British Defence Minister John Healey stated on Wednesday that "military alternatives" were ready in the event the Russian spy vessel Yantar became a threat. The ship had directed lasers towards British pilots who were sent to monitor it. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Britain's Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Air Forces (RAF), regularly shadow potential threats to national safety. Such missions to monitor Russian vessels or submarines are becoming more frequent. Healey stated that aiming lasers at RAF aircraft was "deeply hazardous" and Britain would react based on the Yantar’s next move. Healey stated that "we have military options available should Yantar change its course." He said that the Yantar, which is designed to gather intelligence and map undersea cables, was currently located on the British coast, north of Scotland. This is the first time that Yantar has taken this action against the British RAF. Healey stated that they take the matter very seriously. I have changed the rules of engagement for the navy so that we can monitor and follow the Yantar's activities more closely when it is in our larger waters.
Indian state regulator delays Adani's power deal over cost issues
A filing on Wednesday revealed that the power regulator in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has deferred approval of an Adani Group coal power project worth $2 billion due to a lack of clarity about costs. This was six months after its announcement.
Adani Power won in May a contract for the supply of 1,500 megawatts from a coal-fired plant in Uttar Pradesh, at a cost of 5.38 rupees per unit ($0.0638).
Lack of clarity on costs is due to a July decision by the Indian Government to relax rules for certain coal plants that install equipment which would remove sulfur dioxide while burning coal.
Coal plant operators are expected to save billions of rupees through the easing of regulations.
In an order, the state power regulator stated that Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation failed to provide their own analysis of cost savings or savings resulting from the non-installation of the equipment.
The commission ordered the state utility to add Adani Power as a party in the case, and to submit detailed cost assessments to the commission within two weeks. The case will now be heard on December 18.
In its previous hearing, held in September, the regulator stated that the utility had to have notified the commission of any changes in fixed charges and operating costs resulting from the fact that the equipment was no longer required.
The utility also claimed that it should have evaluated the impact of the revised rates for goods and services taxes on coal as part of the power supply contract.
Indian state electricity distribution companies are signing long-term agreements with coal-fired generators in order to meet an expected surge in evening demand. This is despite efforts by the country to increase its clean energy capacity. (Reporting and editing by Shreya Biwas; Sethuraman N.R.)
(source: Reuters)